@Inquiringmum
The academics at the feeders are good but different.
Reigate St Mary’s is the junior part of RGS. So aound 80 per cent of the kids will move onto RGS. The 11 plus prep is limited. Very few families who go there would actively choose an alternative secondary. You make a decision that RGS is the target when you go there. The kids who don’t move on to RGS are mostly the ones who are not suitable for some reason.
Chinthurst and Micklefield provide good 11 plus prep. Only around 50 per cent of children move onto RGS. Some of the children who are offered RGS will turn it down for a variety of reasons. They then support applications to other schools fully.
Both schools mostly feed into local schools though, e.g. Dunottar, Epsom College, Caterham, St John’s, Worth, Box Hill, Ardingly, Croydon schools. Given the location, these are the schools that make sense commute wise for the families that attend.
Single sex is just one factor. Ultimately things like shorter commute, non-religious ethos, flexible curriculum, sports options and extra-curricular focus outweighed that for the child I have.
For us the single sex options that were a possibility were Woldingham, St Theresa’s Guildford High, Sutton High or Croydon High. Some of those commutes would have been pretty hideous though.